On Wednesday, Cork East Fine Gael TD, David Stanton raised the urgent need to provide more secondary school places in East Cork in a Dail adjournment debate. Deputy Stanton was supported in his concerns by local Fianna Fail TD, Michael Ahern.
Deputy Stanton was very unhappy that the new Minister for Education and Science, Mary Coughlan TD did not attend. He also felt that the response given on the night was totally inadequate and failed to address many of the issues he raised.
Full transcript of the debate follows:
Adjournment Debate: Midleton School Places, 9pm, Wednesday, 21st April 2010
Deputy David Stanton: May I share one minute with Deputy Michael Ahern?
Acting Chairman (Deputy Jack Wall): Is that agreed? Agreed.
Deputy David Stanton: The Acting Chairman might stop me when I am close to the time.
Last year, a number of parents approached me and told me that their children were on waiting lists for second level school, Michael Ahern.
Deputy Stanton was very unhappy that the new Minister for Education and Science, Mary Coughlan TD did not attend. He also felt that the response given on the night was totally inadequate and failed to address many of the issues he raised.
Full transcript of the debate follows:
Adjournment Debate: Midleton School Places, 9pm, Wednesday, 21st April 2010
Deputy David Stanton: May I share one minute with Deputy Michael Ahern?
Acting Chairman (Deputy Jack Wall): Is that agreed? Agreed.
Deputy David Stanton: The Acting Chairman might stop me when I am close to the time.
Last year, a number of parents approached me and told me that their children were on waiting lists for second level schools. When I inquired, I found that virtually every second level school in our area was full. According to my projection of the future, I discovered that there will be 1,480 extra secondary students looking for school places in six years time. Where are those children to go? I am aware of no plans to build new schools or to extend existing schools. As the Minister of State knows, getting a school up and running takes time. Further figures contained in projections made by the Department of Education and Science and the local authority are even more frightening.
Due to the rail link in Midleton, the way in which the county development plan was put together and so forth, there has been an explosion of housing, but there has been no provision for secondary schools. Primary schools are also under ferocious pressure, but it is just not good enough to add extra classrooms to secondary schools. Specialist rooms like woodwork rooms, science labs and so forth are required and must be properly planned and co-ordinated.
I contend that the Department must extend CBS Midleton this summer. It should also start planning immediately to build a new second level school in Midleton and another in Carrigtwohill. The local authority has done its bit by zoning the land, but the Department has not. We have been trying to get information and I have raised this issue in the House time out of number. My colleagues have also raised it in their own ways. However, nothing is happening. What are Deputy Michael Ahern and I to say to parents who, in two years time, approach us about there being no second level places for 20, 40 or 50 children? The situation will get much worse. If my figures are right, the relevant number will be almost 1,500 children in six years time. I have visited the schools and got numbers from all of them bar one. These numbers are frightening.
Glanmire, which is on the edge of the area, is also full and Cobh is under pressure. The Department has produced maps using the latest technology. East County Cork is one of the few areas in the country that are marked in bright red, which shows that the situation is serious. It is an emergency. The Department’s maps indicate there will be a requirement for up to 64 classrooms in the east County Cork area, including Midleton, Carrigtwohill and Cobh.
I hope that the Minister of State will come up with something and tell us that someone is at least examining this matter and that there are some plans. As an experienced planner, he knows that drawing up plans, getting planning permission, the tendering process and then getting the building up and running take a number of years, but the situation cannot wait any longer. My colleague across the floor wants to speak, so I will allow him in.
Deputy Michael Ahern: I thank my colleague, Deputy Stanton, for giving me a minute to support him in his plea for immediate and urgent works with regard to schools in the east County Cork area of Midleton, Carrigtwohill and Castlemartyr. The population in our area has doubled in recent years. Come next September, there will be a shortage of places, particularly for boys, in Midleton’s secondary schools, which take in Carrigtwohill. In fact, 48 students will come from Carrigtwohill national school, almost double the figure of recent years. The situation is urgent.
The Minister, Deputy Batt O’Keeffe, as the then Minister for Education and Science, produced a list in which our area was a priority, as verified tonight by Deputy Stanton. I hope that the Minister of State has received some information that will recognise the urgency of carrying out secondary schools works in our area.
Deputy Ciarán Cuffe: I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Coughlan. I thank Deputy Stanton for raising the matter as it affords me the opportunity to outline the process being utilised to ensure that there will be adequate accommodation in schools at primary and post-primary level in all parts of the country.
The forward planning section of the Department utilises the latest in geographical information system, GIS, technology to assist in planning school requirements into the future. The GIS contains information on all schools – both primary and post-primary – which is geocoded to their locations. This information is then linked to the relevant demographic information relating to those locations. Typically, such demographic information will be obtained from the Central Statistics Office’s census data, the General Registrar of Births, the Department of Social and Family Affairs, An Post’s geodirectory and information supplied by local authorities through development plans.
Growth projection figures are applied to existing population statistics with a view to assessing future requirements and identifying the areas experiencing highest growth at primary and post-primary level. In addition, and as a matter of course, there is ongoing liaison between the Department and local authorities to establish the location, scale and pace of any major developments and their possible implications for school provision.
The forward planning section is in the process of carrying out detailed analysis of over 40 identified locations of highest population growth in order to identify the school accommodation requirements up to and including the 2014-2015 school year. In light of the increase in the birth rate in recent years, the initial focus of this analysis is on primary school accommodation requirements. A more detailed analysis of post-primary accommodation requirements will follow.
Deputy David Stanton: Dear God, this is terrible stuff.
Deputy Ciarán Cuffe: When the required reports have been completed for these initial identified areas, the forward planning section will continue to work on preparing reports on a priority basis for the remainder of the country.
Deputy David Stanton: How can the Minister of State read that script into the record?
Deputy Ciarán Cuffe: Overall school accommodation requirements in Midleton, including any requirement for additional post-primary accommodation, will be considered in this regard.
Deputy David Stanton: This is unbelievable.
Acting Chairman (Deputy Jack Wall): Deputy Stanton should allow the Minister of State to conclude.
Deputy Ciarán Cuffe: In addition to the detailed analysis of accommodation needs currently being carried out by forward planning section, the Department is also examining a number of broad policy issues regarding the establishment of new post-primary schools. As part of this, consideration is being given to the setting up of a new framework in respect of the establishment of new second level schools and their patronage.
Any proposed building pr
